Hayk Marutyan Sues Sona Aghekyan

The Mayor of Yerevan, Hayk Marutyan, has filed a lawsuit against former member of the Yerevan Council, Sona Aghekyan. This information has been confirmed by the Judicial Information System.

The mayor is demanding that Aghekyan be obliged to compensate for the damage caused to his honor and dignity, as well as issue a denial of her statements. The lawsuit was submitted on August 15 and assigned to judge Tatevik Stepanyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.

In our conversation, the mayor's press secretary, Hakob Karapetyan, stated that the lawsuit is related to defamation. Aghekyan had previously declared during a press conference on August 9 that corruption in the mayor’s office has reached unprecedented levels. It is likely that the mayor considered this statement to be defamatory.

Recently, Sona Aghekyan, a member of the “Alternative Municipality” initiative and formerly part of the “Yerkir Tsirani” faction of the Yerevan Council, has been actively criticizing Mayor Hayk Marutyan, often using harsh and offensive language. Just days ago, Aghekyan addressed Marutyan via a Facebook live stream from near Trash Bins in the Erebuni administrative district, saying, “Mr. Forced Mayor, I apologize for addressing you. You are powerless and incompetent, Mr. Prime Minister, you forced us to accept a mayor who promised to green the city. I want to understand where you have implemented this greening; it was a hidden area because I don’t see green spaces in Yerevan.”

On August 16, Aghekyan stated in front of the city hall that if the stench around the buildings on Ayghygortsneri Street is not cleared, she would bring buckets of dirty water and pour them in the mayor’s office on Monday. The day before, Aghekyan left a bucket of dirty water near the city hall and added that they would return to Ayghygortsneri Street in the evening to check whether the mayor has kept his promise.